Man Utd transfer edges closer as Brazilian ‘says yes’ as club’s asking price is slashed in half
Galatasaray have been given the green light by Fred to pursue a transfer with Man Utd expecting an official offer, according to reports.
The Brazilian fell down the pecking order at Old Trafford last season under Erik ten Hag with summer additions Casemiro and Christian Eriksen pushing him out of the starting XI.
Fred started 12 Premier League matches for Man Utd, compared with 24 the previous campaign, and now the 30-year-old will look to move on this summer, with the Red Devils also keen to move him on.
Erik ten Hag is prepared to sell a number of his squad and fringe players this summer as he looks to raise as much as £100m to fund his own recruitment drive.
Man Utd have brought in Mason Mount from Chelsea and Andre Onana from Inter Milan, while Rasmus Hojlund is reportedly set to have his medical today ahead of a £72m move from Atalanta.
Another midfielder is set to be their next transfer target, with Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia linked, but they might have to offload Fred and others before making a deal happen.
And now Milliyet’s Galatasaray correspondent Nevzat Dindar claims that the Turkish side are very interested in signing Fred and the Brazilian has ‘said yes’ to becoming their new No.8.
With Galatasaray making their interest known to Man Utd and the player, the Red Devils are now just ‘waiting’ for an official offer before they can agree to a sale.
Fred has also had offers from Premier League side Fulham and Saudi Arabia with the Brazil international now available for a ‘bargain’ price.
It is understood ‘negotiations continue’ over a transfer fee with Man Utd initially asking for €20m but that has now dropped to as low as €10m as they look to get him off the wage bill.
Former Man Utd right-back Gary Neville believes Fred has suffered during his time at Old Trafford because of the expectations surrounding the transfer fee when he joined from Shakhtar Donetsk in in 2018.
Neville said on Sky Sports said in March last year: “I think Fred was outstanding against Atletico Madrid and probably no one says it enough actually. The problem with Fred is he was £60million.
“The problem has never been, to be fair, Fred’s commitment, his levels of performance. I know people are critical of him, but he does what he does very well.
“Every club at the top of the league has a Fred, but they don’t ordinarily pay £60m for the player. And I think that’s the problem, that you expect more when you pay that sort of money. But I think he’s been very good this last 12-18 months, even two or three years to be fair.
“Whoever the manager has been while Fred’s been there, they’ve always picked him. So [the critics] can continue to keep saying Fred shouldn’t be a Manchester United player, but everyone keeps picking him because obviously, he’s a good trainer and a good lad.
“Fred isn’t the problem at Manchester United. He’s one of the ones that’s been consistent in performance levels.”
